18/6/2013 Sth of La Esmeralda to HuantaD62, T5/6, Av12, max56, tot15562, 5497Mild morning, perfect temps though hot and arid sth of Mayrocc Eating well and getting into the tent to read and type, noises were heard outside. My senses suddenly became heightened, as they do when just a bit of the unknown is thrown in. It was another visit from the dog, the bugger had pulled my rubbish bag out of the tree it was hung in. It was pretty much just full of toilet paper that is used for wiping things. Upon hearing my stern voice, he took off at a great rate of knots. From here the night was uneventful., though cars could be seen passing, people generally don’t look up as the gaze about from a car. My headlight was extinguished when the odd car was heard. No one even saw me exit the site. My runners that are being used to ride with are not the best off road, they pick up all these seed heads from the grass which then get into the socks, it is a pain, there is always one bur that will prick you. Another leather topped pair may be needed if this problem persists. These seed vessels can wreck a pair of socks. Again the riding was a pleasure, there were some areas where the road would move away from the river, this would involve some uphill work, though always rewarded with a good run back closer to the river. Lunch was had at Mayocc. Papitas were enjoyed, they are a deep fried mash potato number often with an egg inside, so nice with a hot homemade sauce. Once over the bridge at Mayocc, the road was reduced to gravel, the scenery was reduced to an arid desert like environment of mainly cacti, with these reductions came an increase in the temperature. It was so nice to be in warm climes again. I took my shirt off to get a bit of vit E among other things, it has been a long time. Quarry trucks were leaving a huge dust cloud in their wake, much was deposited on me. At a swing bring over a tributary to the Mantaro, the locals told me just how much rain they get here in the wet season. The road is totally closed and all rivers are hugely swollen. Noticeable in their absence, were churches belonging to Evangelical Christian groups in this part of Peru. My guess is that the people who live here, have rich, purposeful lives full of happiness, and hope for their children. Most probably have a religion or a belief anyway. They are close to their land. They don’t need or want conditional hope pedaled to them by these organizations. It is so refreshing. In Nicaragua, the second most poorest country in the Americas after Haiti, these organizations are like a plague. Their offers of hope, in the form of a god and heaven, are embraced by many, who sadly have little to look forward to in their lives. In light of this point, some may successfully argue their cause. Unfortunately, this offer of hope and help is not unconditional. Riding along through the pueblitos, you could see the sense of belonging and pride the people had in their lifestyles. Though I will admit their attitude to littering needs attention. It is quite unnerving to see people just toss something and think absolutely nothing of it. South of Mayrocc, like always, dogs were ready to greet you, chasing me and relentlessly barking. Outside this particular house, these 3 bloody big, wild looking buggers took to me. Giving one a bit of attention, I became a little fearful of this lot, they saw it in my eye. One grabbed hold of the back of the bike, shit, it scared me, yelling at him and still moving along, I had made the mistake of looking one dog in the eye as he raced onto the road and showed fear, he knew it. My advice to anyone being harassed by dogs is just totally ignore them and don’t ever show fear, you may be fearful but don’t let them see it in your eyes. They will most certainly sense it and try to bite. Speeding up can also indicate fear to the dog, not to mention that dogs just love chasing things!! Especially those that respond. i feel most dogs are just being that. They generally don't start out with intentions of attack. This is the first time this has happened even though encountering hundreds of these Peruvian pooches. Stopping to inspect things, no holes were in my panniers, although a plastic bag holding bananas was torn open. Two guys studying the flora in the area were met on the road, they said there are about 15 species of cacti here. They also said the Eucalypts are a problem in that they restrict the natural spread of native species After Mayrocc it was a steady climb to Huanta, the corners on the gravel road were thick with talcum powder like dust, it was difficult to get tracking in this soup. Though you had to ride wide to avoid oncoming traffic. Arriving in Huanta at 1530 with every intention of camping south of town. Time was spent chatting, a moto taxi driver offered to show me a ground level hotel. The thought of a shower overcame me. It was booked. This town is short of water, so one had to wait for a shower as the town water is only reticulated between 1800 and 2100 hrs at night and in the morning My suicide shower head was shorting out the hotel. It was an interesting experience to say the least. My hair never did get washed. The temp here in town is very mild, luckily the choice not to camp was made as it rained for some time early in the evening.

This was a super load of beans, this is only the trailer the truck is infront.

Good honest ground level accommodation.

Downtown Huanta, yeah, it had a wasp nest.

Cuye are such a big part of the diet here, in the evenings many people are carrying cut green feed for their cuye. A lady told me they eat it at home a few times a week.